Danbury High Grad, 20, Heading To Trial In $500K Ponzi Scheme

Ian Bick, 19, of Danbury speaks during a television interview with NBCConnecticut.com. The owner of a popular Danbury nightclub was charged Friday with running a Ponzi scheme.

DANBURY, Conn. — Nightclub owner and Danbury High School graduate Ian Bick, 20, will go to trial Friday on federal charges of fraud and money-laundering, according to the NewsTimes.com.

Federal prosecutors charged Bick in January with swindling a half-million dollars from former classmates and their parents.

Bick pleaded not guilty to charges of fraud, money laundering, false statement offenses and allegations of running a Ponzi scheme. He is the owner of the Tuxedo Junction club in the city.

Bick, a 2013 graduate of Danbury High School, is free on $250,000 bond while awaiting trial.

Deirdre Daly, U.S. attorney for Connecticut, said Bick solicited investment funds from his friends, former classmates, acquaintances, and their parents by promising high investment returns over short periods of time.

He also falsely represented to victims that he could generate the high investment returns by using their funds to purchase electronics and electronic devices, such as iPhones and head phones, and resell the electronics via the Internet, she said.

Bick also is accused of falsely representing to some victims that he could generate high investment returns by using their funds to organize and promote various concerts. He falsely represented that he had made significant profits organizing and promoting concerts, officials said.

As part of the scheme, Bick entered into various investment contracts with his victims but diverted those funds for personal expenses, including for hotel stays and to purchase jet skis. He also used invested funds to issue payments, purportedly as “interest payments” and as “return of principal,” to certain victim-investors.

Through this scheme, Bick defrauded more than 15 investors out of a total of nearly $500,000, the indictment said.

The indictment charges Bick with 11 counts of wire fraud, which carry a maximum term of 20 years in prison on each count; three counts of money laundering, which carry a maximum term of 10 years in prison on each count; and one count of making a false statement to federal law enforcement, which carries a maximum prison term of five years.